1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a forceps used for both endoscopic and open surgical procedures that includes an electrode assembly that allows a user to selectively seal and/or cut tissue. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a forceps that uses insulators fixed between electrodes in a bipolar configuration to neck or pinch tissue to reduce the cross sectional area of the tissue.
2. Background of Related Art
Open or endoscopic electrosurgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to effect hemostasis. The electrode of each opposing jaw member is charged to a different electric potential such that when the jaw members grasp tissue, electrical energy can be selectively transferred through the tissue. A surgeon can cauterize, coagulate/desiccate and/or simply reduce or slow bleeding, by controlling the intensity, frequency and duration of the electrosurgical energy applied between the electrodes and through the tissue.
Certain surgical procedures require more than simply cauterizing tissue and rely on the combination of clamping pressure, electrosurgical energy and gap distance to “seal” tissue, vessels and certain vascular bundles. More particularly, vessel sealing or tissue sealing utilizes a unique combination of radiofrequency energy, clamping pressure and precise control of gap distance (i.e., distance between opposing jaw members when closed about tissue) to effectively seal or fuse tissue between two opposing jaw members or sealing plates. Vessel or tissue sealing is more than “cauterization”, which involves the use of heat to destroy tissue (also called “diathermy” or “electrodiathermy”). Vessel sealing is also more than “coagulation”, which is the process of desiccating tissue wherein the tissue cells are ruptured and dried. “Vessel sealing” is defined as the process of liquefying the collagen, elastin and ground substances in the tissue so that the tissue reforms into a fused mass with significantly-reduced demarcation between the opposing tissue structures.
Tissue disposed between the jaw members of the electrosurgical forceps tends to have a relatively large tissue volume or a relatively large cross sectional area. Such a large tissue volume and/or cross sectional area leads to reduced current or energy concentrations in the zone between jaw members and electrical energy in the zone between jaw members is not easily focused.